


Standard Issue Regrets

by Merelymine



Series: A Million Ways [2]
Category: DCU - Comicverse
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-15
Updated: 2009-12-15
Packaged: 2017-10-04 11:20:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merelymine/pseuds/Merelymine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce and Tim have a talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Standard Issue Regrets

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Fishnets and Malice](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29285) by [Merelymine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merelymine/pseuds/Merelymine). 



> Timestamp meme fic for Fishnets and Malice. The prompt was 'the next time Tim sees Bruce after the story takes place'.

Tim can't just go home once Jason leaves, no matter how much he may want to, because the undercover work he's doing is too important. He's proved that once already tonight.

So he sticks with it, knocks a few heads in and hopefully makes the night a safer place for at least a few of Gotham's working girls before he heads back to the Cave.

It's been two hours, and he can still taste Jason. Faint and hiding in the back of his mouth, the unique flavor fades a little more each time he moves his tongue around, searching for it.

He doesn't know what he's going to tell Bruce.

Right now he's far more worried about getting out of these ridiculous clothes and getting a shower. There's not anything quite so bad as having to spend two hours in sticky, cold underwear. Unless, of course, it's having to spend that time in underwear that's not exactly made for your body.

He tosses the top and skirt in the hamper, to be washed and placed back in with his other undercover clothes, and then pulls off the fishnets and gross underwear and throws them in the trash. He takes the shiny red clips out of his hair, placing them on the counter, and carefully removes all the fake piercings from his ears. He unstraps the knives from around his thigh next, laying them out with everything else. They shine in the dim light, polished and clean and incongruous next to the hair clips, and Tim is still a little sad that he never had a chance to use them.

He could have used them on Jason, but he had found... another method. One that better served his purposes.

Besides, it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to pull a knife on the dangerous guy who really likes knives.

The water down here is perfect and hot. Tim showers quickly, changing into sweatpants and a t-shirt after he dries off, and then heads back out to the cave to write up his report.

Bruce is back, sitting at the main console and rapidly typing into an open file. He acknowledges Tim with the barest nod as Tim slides into the chair at the empty console next to him.

They work in silence. Tim writes up his report as quickly as possible, glossing over the incident with Jason in favor of focusing on the actual work he'd been doing tonight. Once he's done he closes the file and stretches, arms over his head as he pushes his chair back.

Maybe they aren't going to talk about it. Maybe Bruce is going to keep his nose out of Tim's personal life, just this once.

Yeah, and maybe Gotham will be attacked by flying pigs.

Of course, with the things he's seen...

"I hope you know what you're doing," Bruce says as Tim starts for the stairs. He pauses, turning back around, but Bruce isn't even looking at him, all of his focus on the computer in front of him.

"Excuse me?" Tim says, as politely as he can manage. He should have known better than to think that Bruce would leave it alone. Not when it involves Jason.

Bruce stops typing, but doesn't turn around, and doesn't give any other indication that he particularly cares about what's being said. It's enough though.

"You can't seduce him into coming home. Into being... good." There's a sliver of remorse in his voice, disappointed and almost wistful. Tim is struck more by the fact that he can hear it than he is by the actual emotion.

"I wasn't--"

"Not even with your considerable charms."

Just bizarre. So Bruce had been watching, or at least listening. Tim hadn't been entirely convinced of it, completely bluffing Jason at the time. He's not really sure how he feels about that, especially in light of that remark.

Translation: It's going to take more than your hot little ass to convince him to give up killing.

And Tim hadn't, honestly, been thinking about that. Hadn't even been thinking about seeing Jason again, at least not with any sort of seriousness, but now?

Yeah. He's feeling a little spiteful. He stares at Bruce, or rather, the back of Bruce's head. The cowl is pushed back, it's bunched and hollow form hanging empty-eyed against the cape. Bruce's hair is damp, plastered flat to his head, and Tim can just imagine the hint of a scowl on his face.

"We'll see," he says, and turns back to the stairs without waiting for a reply.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @ [merelymine](http://merelymine.tumblr.com)


End file.
